The Wind and the Oatmeal and the J.K. Rowling thing.

A Wind Advisory is in effect for much of Western Minnesota right now. They say the wind is gusting up to forty-five miles per hour and is knocking branches from trees and sending cats on long trips via the air*. This news does not bode well for those walking to work today (namely, me). While

P.P.S. I want a pony.

When I returned home from work today, I found a note on the front door. It read: Dear Whoever Reads This, I went to child friend’s name omitted‘s house to see if he could play. Love, Ben P.S. I’m taking money out to buy mints. P.P.S. I want a pony. I fear the poor boy

Free Fiction Part Two: American Gods

I can’t believe I didn’t add this to the previous entry. My mind must be slipping. American Gods by Neil Gaiman is one of those books that comes along and changes the way you see other books. I know quite a few people who claim Gaiman’s prose just isn’t their cup of tea, yet still

Free Fiction.

I’ve recently stumbled across this website, which offers, on average, one to three short stories from many well known (and some not so well known) authors. It’s a wonderful site. Here’s a story available from Kurt Vonnegut. And here are several from Neil Gaiman. And finally, Arthur C. Clarke. (there’s also quite a few great

Springtime In Minnesota

Sometime last week, I opened our front door to find a vision of green grass and of cascading raindrops. I stepped out onto our porch, inhaled deeply, filling my lungs with the refreshingly crisp air, and smiled. After a long and brutal winter, Spring had finally arrived. I returned inside, got dressed, and went for

The One Where I Talk About Jonathan Coulton

I’m not sure how I first found the music of Jonathan Coulton. It may have been Wil Wheaton’s blog, it may have been Twitter, it may have been The Fabulist, I just don’t know. But I’m certainly glad I did. Here’s hoping I’m your first introduction to Jonathon Coulton’s music. Start here. I reccomend Code

The Writer’s Dilemma.

It was 3:25am when the wife left for work. It was 4:00am when I finished watching The Brady Bunch. It was 4:15am when I decided to browse my “unfinished fiction” folder, a folder that is far too full for my liking. It was then 6:24am before I was able to sleep. Why? Because I stumbled

Points Of Interest: A Link Thread.

Robotic Colon Snakes. As if the idea of colonoscopies didn’t sound uncomfortable enough, now researchers are developing self-propelling probes that crawl inside the colon and grip its sides with the aid of sticky films. Via: Warren Ellis — Vibrating Vinyl Beaver. Jeremy Fish has created Barry the Beaver, a ‘vibrating vinyl friend’ for all your

The Blog About Death.

A friend of mine passed recently. I call him friend because, though we weren’t close and though I didn’t know him too well, we shared some good times and I will miss him. I won’t name him here, in fear of his closer friends and family being unappreciative of my mentioning his death in a

Blogging: The Silent Killer.

A real, Honest-To-God, New York Times Headline for Sunday April 6th: In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop The article claims pro blogging is akin to a sweatshop. They work long hours, often to exhaustion. Many are paid by the piece — not garments, but blog posts. This is the digital-era